Just a Girl
by Mystical Miyuki
Summary: That brought up the last thing Sakura was thinking of, and easily, the most important thought of the day. He was able to recognize people as his equals… Except for her. Sakuracentric SakuraXSasuke pairing.
1. Just a Girl

-1Konnichiwa, minna-san. It's Miyuki here for another story.

This was supposed to be a one-shot. However, that's just not gonna happen. Full on story, people. Get ready.

This story is inspired by the song "Just a Girl" by No Doubt. Not exactly a song-fic, but inspired by a song.

And if you like this story, please check out my other Naruto story.

Come What May: One Shot - Pairing SakuraXSasuke

And with that, let's get this show on the road!

_Regular thoughts_

_**Inner Sakura**_

- - -

There were a lot of things on the mind of seventeen year old Haruno Sakura, and considering her age, they were no longer about faithless, unrequited love that she never seemed to obtain. Instead, it was about more serious and important topics. Well, maybe not that serious, but they were very important to her. These thoughts symbolized the changes she had gone through on her journey of life.

One was the intense training she had gone through over the last five years that resulted in how she was today. Because of it, she had grown into a strong and determined woman, and was quite proud of herself. But she also had Tsunade to thank. She had been a wonderful mentor, teacher, and almost a mother figure to her. They shared a deep bond, that was for sure, and she was very happy that she had been able to become so close to her.

Another thing was how everyone else had seemed to grow. It still shocked her when she tried to think back to years before, when they had all started out. Naruto had gone from a lazy, immature youth to… Well, a lazy immature teen. But he had gotten much better at that, and was definitely one of the stronger shinobi in the village for his age. Years ago, she would have laughed at his self-proclaimed dream of being Hokage. However, it was clear that he stood a very good chance at it. His skills kept improving, and his determination could not be rivaled by anyone.

Her other teammate, after having been gone for three years, had returned to show his own dramatic improvement.

Sasuke had to go through two years of probation, which had ended a month ago, and during that time, had done tremendously for himself. His fighting techniques became sharper, better, and deadlier. He was about as strong as Naruto, and it was always difficult to choose one who might best the other. Sakura herself couldn't do it. However, he was still the same brooding male he had always been, getting easily annoyed by anyone that tried to even talk to him. His favorite things to say, to quote:

"Hn."

"No."

"Yeah."

"Dobe."

And the best one of all, in Sakura's mind…

"You're annoying."

But even if his vocabulary seemed a bit redundant, he had matured as well. No longer did he act like he was the king of everything. Okay, scratch that, he still had an ego to match Japan's population. However, he was able to recognize everyone else as an equal.

And that brought up the last thing Sakura was thinking of, and easily, the most important thought of the day. Although, truthfully, she had been thinking about this for awhile. He was able to recognize people as his equals…

Except for her.

As a matter of fact, almost everyone seemed to have the same mentality as he did about such a thing. That made her feel even worse about it all.

They all felt as if she would forever be the damsel in distress, and that she needed saving every goddamn moment of her existence. In truth, the only one who seemed to realize that she could do something on her own was Tsunade. She even showed Sakura her faith whenever she assigned her solo missions.

But to hell with it if she could get one bloody foot out of the gate before Sasuke or Naruto were there, both trying to stop her or warn her off in their own way. In Naruto's case, he would be telling her to be careful, and that she should try to avoid fights much as possible. But Sasuke, being blunt as ever, had decided to just tell her that her shinobi skills sucked and she'd better not do something stupid.

That was her team.

_**You should be soooooooo proud, Sakura. **_

Sakura ended her mental sarcasm at those particular thoughts before Inner Sakura could go on a major rant, and let out a heavy sigh.. One day she showed those bastards what she could do. But for now, she just had to put up with it.

She didn't understand why they still thought her as weak though. She would have thought that Sasuke of all people would have recognized her strength. After all, when he had returned, she had refrained from even looking at him for three months.

The main reason for that was that she felt if she had seen him, she would have reverted to her old self and clung to him, crying for him, and basically proving just how annoying he had always said she was. But by staying away from him for so long, she was able to slowly get used to the fact that he was here and she still didn't need him.

Finally, after so long, she had ended up running into him at the market. She was able to finally greet him properly to the village, and the entire time, she had never once said "Sasuke-kun" and tried to pronounce some undying love for him. Sakura had noticed the look of surprise on his face during the whole conversation, and when she had walked away from him, she could feel that something was off with him.

She never quite understood that, but after that first meeting, they had been able to talk to each other on a frequent basis, and it seemed to everyone around them that perhaps Sakura had fallen out of love with him.

She herself was not sure if she had or not. She was still, even two years later, trying to decipher what her feelings were. She knew it would take much longer than this to do it, especially whenever she saw him looking at her. Instantly, her eyes would meet his, and she could swear she could see some kind of hidden emotion in those beautiful obsidian orbs.

But she could never pinpoint what it was. And she learned to let it go and not question it. Maybe it was just a Sasuke thing. Besides, if she even tried to say something about it, she was afraid his devoted female followers would try and attack her. They had grown in number since he had come back, and there had been times when she had to save him from the mobbing stampede that just screamed his name.

She began to laugh evilly at the thought. It was a humorous moment even if such dire situations for the Uchiha when it happened.

_**Now who's the weak one, Sasuke? That's what I thought!**_

Inner Sakura always had a field day whenever it happened. It was if Sasuke was being proved infallible. He wasn't as great as he believed he was.

A light yawn passed by her lips as she passed by the kitchen where her parents were seated. But quickly, she stopped and went back in, seeing a bowl of rice waiting for her. She decided it would be wise to eat before she left anywhere. However, her parents were just finishing, and they each kissed her on the head before bidding her good bye to do some errands.

She began to eat as though she hadn't in days, and while she did that, her thoughts wandered again. Why couldn't anyone give her the respect she deserved? It wasn't fair at all!

She was a strong kunoichi. She was sure she had proved it countless times. But nooooo, they didn't seem to notice that. They only noticed when she either messed up or made an ass of herself. She felt that wasn't really fair, and that just made her angrier.

_One of these days, they'll realize how I am…_

_**Stupid bastards think they're so great… Sexist pigs…**_

_I am going to prove them all wrong today, but I swear if they do anything-_

_**Off with their heads! Off with their heads! Damn them, off with their bloo-**_

Snap!

Blinking lightly, she glanced at her hand, which was currently holding a pair of broken chopsticks. In her angry thoughts, she must've have gone a bit extreme. And it especially didn't help that she had such inhuman strength on her side.

Letting out a little laugh of nervousness at what she had done, she set them down and quickly headed to the door, deciding breakfast was over. In moments, she had slipped on her shoes and was out the door, heading for training.

She was no longer clad in the same dress that she had worn five years ago, and had evolved to something more practical with her tank top and shorts. And she was glad to have chosen such a comfortable outfit as well. It was a cool, breezy day, and with what she was currently wearing, it felt good to have the wind press against her bare skin as it rushed past.

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment as she moved forward, tilting her head back and up to soak in the sun overhead. It was a nice, serene moment, one that she enjoyed more than anything.

Too bad someone had to go and ruin it.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaan!"

She instantly opened her eyes and whipped around, her head falling back down to see the blur of orange rush right towards her. A yelp escaped her but before she could even move, she felt a familiar pressure on her upper arm as she was grabbed and dragged towards the bridge where they all met.

Sakura tried to smack him upside the head, while also trying to get back on her feet but it was no use. Naruto was just too strong for her at this point. "Naruto, you let me go this instant, I can walk on my oooooown!" she shouted, but her words fell on deaf ears.

He just gave her that coy fox grin and ran even faster, not even aware that her feet were dragging against the dirt instead of running with it. This had become someone of a routine each morning, and normally, she was always on the watch for him, but it seemed this morning she hadn't been paying as much attention.

By the time they made it, Sakura's hair was standing every which way, her clothes were completely covered in dirt, and she stood there in complete shock and awe at the situation. What a way to turn up for practice.

Sasuke was already there, and he gave a quick glance towards them before letting out a 'Hn'.

_**Well, scratch that word of the list of vocab for the day. Let's see if he'll be able to use the rest of his dictionary in practice.**_

Sakura giggled to herself at the thought, and noticed as both males glanced at her in confusion. She waved it off immediately, not wanting them to pry her for why she had been laughing so much.

Instead, the two of them just shrugged and turned back to what they were doing. Sadly, they didn't have much to do while waiting for their sensei, and so, they just stood there in silence. It was already a half hour later than when they were supposed to be meeting, and of course, their sensei was not there yet.

But no sooner had the thought crossed their minds, a cloud of smoke appeared before dissipating into Kakashi.

The elder shinobi looked at each of them, his one visible eye crinkling into a smile as he nodded to each one in turn. "Sorry about that. See, I was on my way to training and this little old lady was having troubl-"

"_Liar!"_

He blinked before grinning sheepishly under his mask to see both Sakura and Naruto right in front of him, gazing at him with utmost suspicion yet a hint of humor as well. They had grown so used to it that it no longer phased them. Hell, it'd surprise them more if he showed up on time for once.

"Sooooo, for today, I was thinking that we have a little bit of sparring going on," he stated, watching as they each nodded eagerly, but he noticed the extra look of determination in Sakura's eyes.

This would be an interesting day.

And so, as sensei, he would be the one to make it even more interesting.

"I think today that I'll spar with Naruto, while Sakura and Sasuke spar together, for a bit of change. Agreed?" he asked, thinking that no one would really argue. But he was wrong.

Naruto was excited that he would get to fight Kakashi, and Sakura was delighted that she was being given a chance to prove herself. However, wise guy Uchiha just had to make his statement.

Before he could even open his mouth, Sakura was watching him, and she could see the twisting features on his face that indicated he was about to speak.

_Don't say it, please don't say it…_

_**You say one goddamn thing and I'll break your neck, chicken hair.**_

_Just let it go, just let us fight, no complications!_

_**Seriously, I'll do it, your neck is as good as snapped like my chopsticks this morning.**_

_Come on, pleeeeeeease…_

_**Heh, I'm calling you Chopstick from now on.**_

"I have to spar Sakura? I might as well go home, this will be useless," he said in a monotonous tone. Both Naruto and Kakashi sighed, but quickly stopped when they had glanced over at Sakura who was remaining quite calm at this point. But they should have known it would be over soon.

Because that's when the poor girl snapped.

In an instant, she had grabbed Sasuke by the collar and was pinning him to one of the trees by the bridge. Jaws dropped, eyes widened, and both her sensei and Naruto stared as they saw this. It had happened so fast, they had nearly missed it.

She felt Sasuke's glare on her but before he could say a word, she tightened her hold. She didn't know where this sudden anger had come from, but right now, she wanted nothing more to do than shove his face into the dirt. It was such a good thought to her right now, she was tempted to try it out. However, she forced herself to rid that thought, and keep the situation at hand clearly imprinted in her mind.

"Listen up!" she snarled, and she knew that Inner Sakura was helping her a bit with this one. "I am not as weak as you think I am! You need to stop treating me like I am! I am your teammate and I'm as strong as either one of you! Why is it so hard for you to realize that?" she asked, her eyes gleaming with question and anger. Sasuke glared at her hatefully, and she could catch a flicker of arrogance in his eyes. He opened his mouth to answer.

And it was his next statement that had forced her to drop him.

"You're just a girl."

He was already fallen unceremoniously on the ground as she took a few steps back and turned away, glancing at Kakashi for permission. All he gave her was a slight nod before she started heading back to the village. But before she left completely, she said one more thing in parting.

"When you can acknowledge me as something else than 'just a girl', you come find me."

And with that, she was already gone, heading down the street with a somewhat defeated look to her.

Naruto was instantly at Sasuke's side, glaring at him with a look of pure disbelief. "Now why in the hell did you have to say that?" he asked, shaking his head at the idiocy of his friend.

Sasuke shrugged, standing up and brushing himself off. "That's what she gets. She should know by now that she'll never be my equal. She's just annoying," he stated, although it was a bit obvious that he was somewhat unsure of what he had said himself. He glanced back in the direction that Sakura ran, staring at it even after she had already disappeared in the crowd.

"She's always so annoying."

Next word scratched off the vocab list. He's got three more left, if you're counting.

"Did you really have to say it though?"

"Yeah."

Two more.

"Do you care if her feelings are hurt?"

"No."

One more. See a pattern?

"You are such a bastard!"

"And you're a dobe."

And Sasuke's vocabulary has been used up for the day. There is an eighty percent chance that this may be all he says today.

Without another word, Kakashi coughed and got both of their attention in an instant. "I'm thinking that we'll just have practice is a few days. Until then, I think she needs some time to cool down, and you, Sasuke, need some time to think about how valuable Sakura really is," he said as if he were scolding a child.

He was gone in a matter of seconds, leaving both Naruto and Sasuke left to think.

Pause, rewind, and play. About a second afterwards, Naruto had bolted from the area back into town, most likely in search of Sakura to console her after what Sasuke had said.

And Sasuke was left to stand there, wondering why on earth everyone was against him today.

- - -

Sakura was currently at the Ichiraku, of all places, and was currently eating her heart out because currently, her heart was a bit hurt. It seemed that whenever she was depressed, food was her main outlet.

And boy, was she depressed.

After her third bowl, however, she realized depression doesn't stretch out your stomach that much, and paid for her meals before leaving. At least her appetite was satiated for the day.

As she left the ramen stand, she hadn't gotten two steps out before she was nearly plowed over by an impenetrable force.

"Sakura-chan, are you ok? Forget what that teme said!"

She couldn't help but laugh slightly at the boisterous male in front of her. He had a way of making her feel better when she tried hard not to. Sometimes she hated it, but right now, perhaps a little joy would do her some good.

She leaned forward and ruffled his hair, grinning at him sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm alright now. I just needed a bit to calm down," she said, watching as he smiled widely in response.

"Well, that's good to hear! I don't want you getting sad over what that idiot has to say! I know that you're strong!" he said with a grin, not realizing how much he had just shown his hypocritical side. But Sakura picked up on it, and things went from happy to hazardous in moments.

Her smile quickly evaporated, and was turned into a look of confusion. Naruto noticed this immediately, and he frowned, tipping his head to the side to gaze at her. "Sakura-chan?" he asked.

"You make no sense Naruto. You say that you know I'm strong, but you've never acknowledged it," she said, her eyes slanting dangerously as she took a step forward.

He began to sweat, knowing that this wouldn't turn out well. He took a step back, but she followed him. Every time he took a step, she would too, and there really wasn't much point to his movement.

"You never once believed that I was strong as you two!"

"R-really, I didn't say that-"

"You never once believed that I could handle a mission on my own!"

"Now Sakura-chan, you kno-"

"You never once believed that I had the ability to fight for myself!"

"I don't know what you're at-"

"_You never once let me fight on my own! You both felt obligated to rescue me!"_

"……."

At this, Naruto was speechless. He couldn't argue with her, because he knew she was right. He hadn't ever really acknowledged her as being that strong and capable. He had always been against the idea of her taking on a mission alone. He was spastic whenever she was in battle, and normally would always intrude in to fight for her.

He dropped his head in shame, and she instantly felt some guilt and shame for what she had said. However, she didn't let that show. This was something she needed to say. And damn it to hell if she was going to back down now.

"Naruto, why couldn't you guys once, just once, stop thinking of me as a girl but as a fellow shinobi?"

He didn't answer her and was silent for a few moments, pondering on what he could say. However, when he found the right words and went to look at her-

She was gone.

- - -

Morning had risen the following day, and Team Seven had been given the day off from practice, as well as the next. This was mostly because Kakashi felt that Sakura needed some alone time, Naruto needed some thinking time, and Sasuke needed some ego-checking time.

Sakura was currently at the flower shop at promptly nine that morning, having heard that a lot of the other teams had the day off as well. It had been awhile since she had chatted with Ino, and was there waiting expectantly for the girl to give her some time. After only fifteen minutes of waiting, she was rewarded for her patience, seeing Ino move towards her.

Now that they had the chance, they wandered off to a section of the shop to sit down where they could gossip and be themselves.

Instantly, the moment they were seated, Ino bombarded Sakura with a flurry of questions, wanting to know everything that had happened to her, would be happening, or was happening at the moment.

"So, how's your training going? Got a boyfriend yet? You really need a boyfriend, I keep telling you that, but you never listen to me! But I think you should get one-"

Sakura smiled as her friend rambled on, listening intently while also thinking in the back of her mind…

_What would I do without a fun friend like you, Ino?_

"-And I mean, you haven't even gotten to first base yet! I mean, seriously, Shikamaru and I have hit a home run sooooo many times-"

"Ino!" Sakura screeched as she quickly covered her ears, proceeding to go "La la la la la la" to drown out the perverted rantings of her friend.

Seeing that Ino was laughing instead of talking, she felt it safe to drop her hands from her ears and stop her chant, watching the look of amusement on her friend's face.

"Well, Sa-ku-ra-chan!" she enunciated, always doing this when she was trying to make a point. "I don't understand why you don't have yourself a good guy! You're not still hung up over that Sasuke, are you?" she asked suspiciously, leaning in real close until they were probably an inch away.

Blink.

Blink blink.

Blink blink blink.

"…Are you?"

"No!"

Ino quickly leaned back into her seat, her elbows on the table and her head in her hands as she saw Sakura instantly get worked. She knew that the girl had wanted to talk about something, and normally, whenever she was upset, it was because of Sasuke.

"I don't feel that way for him anymore Ino. Besides, he insulted me yesterday in a way where I'm not sure if I can forgive him."

"Oooooooo, really, what'd he do?"

And Sakura proceeded to explain the whole story to her in great detail. Ino listened carefully, taking in everything of the tale as Sakura continued to go on with it.

"And then he said, 'You're just a girl'-"

"He _what!_"

Crash!

Ino's chair had been knocked away as she stood up abruptly, anger evident in her eyes at this point. "He said it was because you were a girl? Oh when I get my hands around that neck of his…" she said, imitating it in the air of how she was going to break it.

Sakura chuckled lightly at the thought. "You know, I had been thinking that exact same thing when he was saying all that. You notice how small his neck is? It's like a chopstick."

Ino roared with laughter at this one, slamming the table with the palm of her hand at the thought. "That's a great one, Sakura-chan! Whenever we're trying to talk about him in front of him, that's our codename! Chopstick!"

This was why Sakura was such great friends with her.

The pink-haired beauty grinned sheepishly at her friend's antics, nodding in agreement as Ino picked her chair back up and seated herself once again.

"Well, I'm glad we were able to catch up after so long! You'll need to stop by again sometime!"

"I'll be sure to do it! I'll see you later, ok?"

They both stood up and gave each other a quick parting hug, before Sakura turned and left the flower shop. She gave one quick last wave back before opening the door and heading outside.

Just to run right into someone on the other side.

Before she could fall back, however, two hands reached forward and grabbed her arms, stopping her from her descent. She looked up at her savior…

To see Neji standing there with a slight smirk on his face.

She let out a nervous laugh as she stood up, allowing him to let her go before giving a quick bow of apology. Not only had she been reworked up at the thought of Sasuke, but she had literally bumped into one of the better shinobi her age, and that itself was a bit degrading and embarrassing. "Gomen, Hyuuga-san, I didn't m-"

"Neji."

"Nani?"

"Call me Neji. Do we need such formalities, Sakura-san?"

She blushed slightly, waving her hand in front of her face. "Of course, of course, you're right! Gomen, Neji-san, I didn't mean to run into you like that," she said with a nervous laugh, wondering when he had become so polite and so… Almost in a way, flirtatious. Maybe it was his hormones. After all, he was a guy, and she was a girl.

_**Look at that fine man in front of you. Who cares what Chopstick said now? This guy is just too good-looking to even think about his insults! You know you wanna tap that!**_

Sakura was glad no one could hear her thoughts, because she would probably never live it down.

Not realizing that she was having an embarrassing exchange with her inner self, Neji nodded and gave her a very faint smile. "It's alright. Tell me, and I do not mean to be intrusive but I heard Naruto mentioning it to my cousin. Did Uchiha say something to upset you yesterday?" he asked, his eyes boring into hers as he awaited an answer.

And for the next fifteen minutes, he got to watch and listen as the pink-haired girl in front of him began to pace and rant about that same boy he mentioned, using her hands to add to the story as she explained it in excruciating detail.

When she was finished, her face was a bit red, her hair was a bit disheveled, and she looked like she had gotten pissed off all over again.

He let out a chuckle at the sight, and just hearing him laugh made her anger deflate in moments.

"I guess I was right. But I don't understand why he would say something like that. You are a very capable kunoichi, as well as a wonderful medic. The best I've seen, I'd say."

If there was any possible way for Sakura to turn redder at this point, it happened. Now he was being nice to her? This was quite new, to say the least. Not that she was complaining, of course.

She grinned at him, laughing nervously at such a compliment coming from one of the other prodigies of the village. "Arigato, Neji-san. It means a lot to hear such praise from you."

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. And that brings me to another question."

"Nani?"

"Would you like to spar with me for a bit?"

She blinked at his proposal, and before she had time, she blurted out something.

"Sure!"

Neji smiled as she accepted, holding out his arm for her to take. She smiled at the gesture, wrapping her arm with his as they began to walk down to one of the training areas. However, they were interrupted during their walk.

By none other than Chopstick himself.

Sasuke was in front of them before they could even say anything, and they both just stared at him as he stared back. His eyes dropped to where their arms were linked, before moving back up to Sakura's.

"Why are you with him?"

"He invited me to train."

"I was just going to find you for that."

"Why train with me? Last time I checked, I wouldn't be a challenge for you."

They spoke as if Neji wasn't even there, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he was very amused with how it was turning out in front of him. His silver eyes moved from one to the other, noticing the same look of determination and slight anger from each of them. This was very interesting for him indeed.

"I never said that."

"You might as well have. Now excuse us, we're going to train."

"You don't need to link arms before training."

"Why does it bother you?"

"I never said it did."

"Then don't ask about it. But for your information, Neji did that as a polite gesture. What a gentleman would do. Obviously, you wouldn't recognize something like this."

Sasuke growled, wondering when the hell Sakura had gotten so feisty. He had to admit, she had never really talked back to him like this before the incident yesterday, and it was something that intrigued him. However, it didn't intrigue him enough not to be pissed.

"Just because I don't act like that towards you doesn't mean I'm not a gentleman."

"Oh yeah, that's right, because you hang out with loads of other females other than me. Oh, that's right again, you don't. You keep yourself holed up either in your house or when you train."

"Sakura, you're just so annoying," he said with relish, his eyes glinting with supreme hatred as he threw the Hyuuga an extremely enraged look before glancing back at the pink haired beauty. But for some reason, he didn't get the reaction he was expecting. Instead, he got something that shocked him a bit himself.

Sakura just smirked at his comment, and while flipping her hair back over her shoulder, she guided Neji around and past Sasuke. Before she was too far away, however, she turned her head back and said one last thing.

"No, Sasuke, I'm just a girl."

- - -

Please, please, please, leave a review. I need to know if people like this story and want me to continue it, because it is a bit disheartening not to get any reviews for something I worked hard on. Acknowledge it, people.

As well, if you read my other Naruto stories, review those ones as well! I wanna know what you think. Ja ne.

-Miyuki


	2. Unacceptable

-1Konnichiwa, minna-san. You must excuse me for such a long absence. My internet was not working for more than a month, putting me on somewhat of a hiatus. However, internet is back up and running, and I plan on making updates for any other stories I have.

To remind readers, this is based on both the manga and the show. So elements of both may or may not be tied into any plot line, ok? Ok!

Now, the second chapter of "Just a Girl". When I was getting reviews, I didn't realize it would be so popular! I must say, I'm proud of all the remarks I got! You make an authoress feel loved! I hope you enjoy!

_Regular Thoughts_

_**Inner Sakura**_

- - -

With heavy breathing but a lighter heart, Sakura collapsed at the base of an old oak tree that was right outside of the Konoha gates. The spar she had with Neji had turned out to be, could she say it, _fun _the entire time. They had been putting forth their best moves, but even so, it was almost like a little game in between the two. Nothing completely serious, but at the same time, they made the effort to provide a challenge for the other.

At the beginning, she instantly knew that he wasn't going to go easy on her, and that thought alone had made her so proud. One person that felt they could go on equal footing instead of giving her some lame handicap.

And speaking of the person, Neji had decided to sit down beside her, his dark ebony hair falling down past his shoulders, with a few loose strands hanging in front of his face. She couldn't help but stare at him for a moment, taking in the sight. He was handsome, in his own devilish way, and she had always wondered why he didn't have a girl waiting for him after a hard mission. Someone like him should have been snatched up by now. But then again, the same could be said for Sasuke. But that one she had a perfectly good explanation.

_**He is completely, utterly gay.**_

Out of nowhere, she just burst out laughing, leaning forward and clutching her stomach at the sheer idea of that. Her first thought had just been that he was a dick, and perhaps his attitude was compensating for something, but that one was definitely the one she would stick with from now on.

Neji, not being able to hear the rantings of Inner Sakura, just stared at her in complete and utter confusion, trying to figure out what in the world had caused her to start laughing so uncontrollably. And to make things worse, the moment she looked up and saw his facial expression, her laughter increased tenfold.

It took her several minutes to calm down, and just a few more to be able to choke out an explanation on her thought process of Sasuke's marital status. It seemed that had appeased Neji's curiosity, and even he had to let out a bit of a chuckle.

When they were both calm and a bit more energized, the sun was at its highest, indicating that lunch was just around the corner. And being the gentleman that she had seen before, Neji stood quickly to offer his hand to Sakura.

With a blush that would rival her silky locks, she took his hand and allowed him to help her from her spot on the forest floor. She quickly pulled her own hand away and began dusting off the seat of her shorts, staring down so that he wouldn't catch the different shades of red on her face. And it was a good thing she was still looking down, because after his next question, her face would have matched a tomato.

"It would honor me if you would accompany me for lunch, Sakura-san."

Just the way he said it made her a little weak in the knees. She completely blamed hormones for this, and the lack of attention from any other male in the vicinity. Finally finding the courage to look back up at him, she decided to accept his proposal.

"I would lo-"

"She can't. We are meeting up with Naruto at the Ichiraku."

Both Neji and Sakura whipped their head around to see Sasuke leaning against a tree, sending probably the deadliest glare towards the Hyuuga prodigy that anyone had ever witnessed. But he didn't seem to notice it, and instead, crossed his arms in front of his chest before replying.

"Well, I'm sure she would like to eat something other than ramen once in a while, don't you think? She does need her strength," he commented, causing Sakura to go right back to staring at her feet instead, not wanting either male to see her face.

However, Sasuke immediately seemed to pick up on her sudden shyness, and in an instant, was at her side and grabbing her arm. "The dobe eats ramen all the time, and his strength is just fine," he retorted, pulling her forward a bit so that she nearly stumbled over herself.

Before she could even say anything, Neji was grabbing her other arm, tugging firmly but perhaps slightly gentler than Sasuke had.

"But that doesn't mean she likes eating ramen all the time."

Tug.

"How would you know that or not? She's my teammate, not yours."

Tug.

"Well, whether I'm her teammate or not, it seems that I know her a bit more than you do."

_Tug._

"What's that supposed to me? I know her a hell of a lot more than you ever will!"

_Tug._

"You may know facts about her, Uchiha, but do you know her feelings? Her thoughts?"

_**Tug!**_

"Of course I d-"

"_Stop it right now!"_

Both Neji and Sasuke instantly let go of Sakura, and watched as she began rubbing her arms in somewhat of an aggravated manner. They were both a bit red from their incessant tug-of-war, and to be blunt, she was sick of it.

With a huff, she started heading back towards Konoha, not sparing either one of them another glance. "I'll just eat at home, thank you very much! I don't much care for people deciding for me all the time!" she said in a heated manner, and soon, she was out of the sight of both males.

Speaking of such males, they were no longer paying attention to the pink-haired kunoichi, but glaring at each other in such a way that it was almost a sure thing that one of them would suddenly light on fire.

Without another second passing, they were both gone.

- - -

"Stupid, inconsiderate jackasses. Damn them both. Damn them all to hell! I am woman, hear me bitch!"

This was her chant the entire way back into Konoha, and even the guards had to keep themselves from looking at the girl, not wanting to fear her wrath. Everyone in the village knew of her inhuman strength, and her short, fiery temper.

And every single one of them understood the dangers of such a combination.

She was still grumbling as she walked through the streets, but while she was trying to push her way through the bustling walkways, she immediately calmed down, and just decided to enjoy the rest of her day without worrying about either of the men that had just so brutally attacked both her arms and her pride. And it seemed that she was rewarded for her calm demeanor, for no sooner than she had decided to plaster a smile on her face, her other teammate decided to pop up out of nowhere.

Normally, she would have expected him to suddenly pounce on her and give her the greatest bear hug, but it seemed that he remembered the events that had previously occurred between the two.

With a look that would rival a child, Naruto looked at her with both shame and apology, which she couldn't help but accept before he was even able to say it.

But of course, she wanted to hear it, and so, she stood there patiently, watching as he began to shuffle his feet, trying to find the right words to make Sakura forgive him. When it seemed as though he had finally pieced together a decent reply, he looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

"Sakura-chan, what happened before, and what happens on all of our missions… I wanted to say I'm sorry… You were right, I did treat you less than what you deserve. You are a very strong person, and you can take care of yourself."

Now, even that seemed to be more than she had expected. What she believed he would say was, "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, let's go eat ramen!" but this one was definitely alright with her. He truly did mean every word that he said, and that made her smile grow even more. But it became apparent that he wasn't done yet. The smile that she just flashed him seemed to give him more confidence, and with his own fox-like grin, he was right in front of her with his fist in the air.

"From now on, Sakura-chan, missions will be completely different! I know that you can protect yourself, and I'll only interfere when you really do need help, not when I think you need help!" he proclaimed, and before she could even protest, he had her embraced in a very tight, bone-crushing hug.

She coughed a bit, her face turning a light purple as she tried to get him to release her from his vice-like grip. Her prayers were answered a moment later when she was back on solid ground, gulping up air like she had been deprived for hours of the substance. He laughed nervously, not wanting her to be upset at him again. But it seemed her anger had washed away completely, and when she was no longer gasping, she tugged on his arm.

"I'm really hungry right now, Naruto. I was gonna eat lunch with Neji, bu-"

"_What!_"

Sakura jumped at the sudden yell, blinking at him in surprise at the tone in his voice when he had said that. What was up with people freaking out when Neji was involved?

"Sakura-chan, were you really going to eat lunch with Neji? But why?" he asked in a pitiful pout, and she couldn't help but giggle slightly at the sight. But she didn't take too long with that, for in the next few seconds, she was now gazing at him with the same confusion as the day before, but for a whole new reason.

"What's wrong with Neji?" she asked aloud, and instantly, Naruto started waving his hands in the air, showing her that he hadn't meant it in such a negative way.

He cleared his throat, before deciding to try and explain it in a way that Sakura would understand. "What I mean is, why would you go eat lunch with Neji? I didn't even know you talked to him! And what about Sasuke-teme?" he asked, and quickly realized his mistake when Sakura's face turned completely red.

"Who cares about Sasuke! He didn't seem to care about me yesterday, and then earlier, when Neji had asked me to lunch, he appears out of nowhere and freaks out! I just don't get that guy! Is his dislike for Neji that great that his own teammate can't spend time with him?" she inquired, and without her noticing, Naruto was just shaking his head at her thought process.

"I'm not sure that's it, Sakura-chan…" Naruto trailed off, watching her and knowing that she really wasn't paying too much attention to him right now, but instead, was thinking about the Uchiha with probably the most hated ideas at this point. But before he could even ask, she had grabbed his arm and was dragging him elsewhere.

"We're going out to eat, Naruto, and you're paying for my lunch, and everyone's going to be freaking happy because today is a freaking happy day, _do you understand!_"

All Naruto could do was nod as he was dragged to the Ichiraku, afraid to say anything more.

As they both walked - well, not so much walking for Naruto - inside of the Ichiraku, they each took a seat at the counter, and immediately, the atmosphere was less tense. A woman came over and as politely as possible, asked them what kind they would like.

"Shrimp ramen for me, please," was Sakura's response, and it was lucky she got that in, because a second later, Naruto had jumped up and was yelling his order.

"I'll have two beef ramen, one shrimp ramen, and another chicken ramen!" he said with a grin, causing both women near him to just blink at his sudden enthusiasm. But trying to make it look as if the sudden shout hadn't shocked her, the woman just nodded and skittered off to put in their orders.

Sakura had to admit, the reaction from the woman had been a bit enjoyable, and as their food came, they were catching up on the latest that had happened to each other. Sakura explained all of the medical jutsus that Tsunade had been currently teaching her, ranging from blood-clotting, anesthetics, and infections. Naruto even seemed mildly interested, interrupting her only when he had a question on something that may have confused him during her whole explanation.

However, the conversation turned for the better when Naruto began explaining what had been going on with him. At first, it seemed as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He had been on some missions, more training with Jiraiya, and even had a spar with Rock Lee, which he added, had been a victorious one for himself.

But it was when he had mentioned Hinata's name that had Sakura on the edge of her seat, shooting questions at him every which way.

With a giggle, she had leaned over towards him, seeing a hint of nervousness in those huge blue eyes of his. "So you've been talking to Hinata lately? What have you guys talked about? Gone anywhere?" she asked quickly, watching his eyes get huge at the accusation. "No, no, no, Sakura-chan, you've got it all wrong! Me and Hinata are just friends! But I will admit…" he trailed off slightly, and with a keen look from Sakura, was urged to continue.

"It's just that… Whenever she sees me, she always stutters really bad, and about a minute later, she faints! I can't even say hi to her! Am I that scary?" he asked in confusion, causing Sakura to mentally slap herself.

_**You baka! It's not that you scare her! My freaking god, you are one of the best shinobi for our age, and you can't even tell when a girl likes you!**_

Sakura just tapped her fingers on the countertop gently, depositing a few noodles in her mouth as she just marveled at the sheer idiocy of her friend. How could he not tell that she liked him? For crying out loud, she couldn't even look at the kid without turning red! Surely he had noticed that!

Finishing off her ramen, she pushed the bowl away and turned towards him. "Well, why don't you just start to talk to her a bit more? I mean, maybe the more you talk, the more comfortable she'll be around you!" she suggested, watching as he began to contemplate her words, and it seemed that she had gotten through to him…

"But if I do that, then wouldn't she just faint even more?"

_**You… Freaking… Baka… Kuso!**_

Sakura just pursed her lips, knowing that there would be no way for him to understand until someone spelled it out for him. And since she couldn't do that (she had to remember Hinata's feelings and intense shyness), all she could do was shrug her shoulders. "Maybe, but that might just be at the beginning! The more you talk, the more she gets used to it, the less she faints! You don't want her to keep fainting every time you two speak, do you? Doesn't that make you feel bad?" she inclined, and that was what clinched the deal.

Naruto immediately jumped out of his seat, nearly knocking his ramen off the counter and onto the floor. "I don't want Hinata to be so nervous around me all the time! I feel bad whenever she faints! Maybe I should go talk to her now!" he stated, and Sakura felt as though she had won some battle against the denseness this boy had towards other girl's feelings.

Without a moment's hesitation, she was also out of her seat and pushing him towards the door. "Go to her, Naruto! Make things better!" she chanted, and no sooner had the words left her mouth, he was gone.

Grinning at her good deed for the day, she turned to grab a napkin…

To see the woman there holding out the check for their meal.

Trees shook and buildings creaked as the echoed shout of "NARUTO!" rang out through the entire village.

- - -

Walking home with heavy legs and a lighter money purse, she realized that it was still about mid-afternoon, and to waste it sitting at home would be a shame. So forcing herself to become less sluggish, she turned her direction away from home and instead, to the open field in the middle of the village where the sakura trees were blooming. Her favorite time of year was Spring, and lucky for her, she was able to enjoy it immensely.

It took her no longer than five minutes to reach her plane of happiness, and she felt a rush of happiness overtake her sense for awhile. Here, she could let out the inner child that was sometimes pushed to the side when it came to missions or training. Giggling like a school girl, she skipped over to one of the larger sakura trees. The petals danced around in to their own hidden tune, and as they fluttered against her pale skin, she began to spin in the center.

She felt one with the petals, not just because of her namesake, but for the fact that for this short amount of time, she could be just as free and inhibited as they were. They caressed her body as she spun, even allowing themselves to be caught within her rosy locks. The rest seemed to scatter themselves around her, eventually ending their dance to rest with the grass below her.

And when she got dizzy enough, she allowed herself to join them, splaying herself on the ground like a starfish. Her eyes wandered up towards the sky, and immediately, she had to lift her hand to block out the sun before it blinded her. But it wasn't for long, because soon, huge fluffy clouds drifted in front of it, letting her still feel the warmth, but not have to see the bright light. She was so relaxed, and felt like nothing could ruin this moment for her.

But of course, whenever you think in such a positive way such as that, someone is always going to come along.

"Hello Sakura."

She easily recognized that voice, and without having to turn her head, greeted the newcomer with a simple wave.

"I never thought I'd have seen you out here with sakura trees…" she said gently as she turned her head in their direction.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it, Sai?"

Sai nodded his consent, and walked over to where she was laying in the grass. Without asking, but knowing she wouldn't tell him to leave, he seated himself next to her, cross-legged on the ground unlike her more carefree position. "It has been too long since I've seen you. Since I am no longer part of your team, our meetings have become far and few," he inquired gently.

Turning herself slightly so that she was facing him more, she gave him a sheepish grin. "Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we? I was actually just wondering about you! Last time I had talked to you, you had been given a mission to go to the Snow Country. How did that go?" she asked, propping her head up with her hand holding her chin and her elbow against the ground.

Sai seemed to take a moment to collect his thoughts before answering. "It wasn't too bad of a mission. There was a reported missing-nin in that area that seemed to be causing some trouble for the village. Luckily, we were able to apprehend him when we got there. It took a few of us to do it, since he did have extended knowledge on some jutsus we hadn't encountered before. However, the mission was successful, and the village was very grateful for the assistance," he explained to her.

Gracing her with one of his very rare yet still true smiles, he decided to return the question. "And what about you? Have you been doing much lately, or do you spend your days dancing to flowers?" he asked, his smile reverting to a smirk, and instantly she began to blush.

"Aha, so you caught that, did you?" she inquired with a red tint to her face, scratching her cheek in embarrassment. "Well, no, I've been doing more! Mostly medical jutsus with Tsunade-sama, but I have also been on a few missions myself with the old Team Seven," she explained, and he tilted his head in an unspoken question.

She let out a sigh, having known he was going to be curious. "It's been weird still seeing Sasuke-kun. I mean, I don't know how I feel about him anymore. I want to say I've gotten over him, but that would be a lie. But I'm trying, I really am!" she said in exasperation. But knowing that she wasn't quite finished yet, Sai remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

And he was rewarded a moment later, as she took a deep breath and kept going with her story. "But he seems to be acting so weird. Just yesterday, he insulted me when we were going to train, but today, when I was sparring with Neji, he shows up out of nowhere and basically tells him I wasn't going with him to lunch! And I know how much he already hates Neji, so is this just some guy thing that I don't know about? I mean, god, I'm not his territory, so he doesn't have to act like some dog that pissed on me first!" she explained in anger, causing Sai to raise an eyebrow questioningly.

"Are you sure it was because you were with Neji that had him acting that way?" he asked in a nonchalant manner, and to this, Sakura was the one to look at him in confusion. "What do you mean? What other reason could there be?"

Sai just shook his head, staring at the sky that she had been looking at only minutes ago. "I guess I'm not sure," he said, and Sakura seemed to let it go at that, also tilting her head to gaze upward with him.

They stayed like that for awhile, just enjoying each other's presence and the silent atmosphere around them. It was something that Sakura didn't mind at all, especially since it was with Sai. Ever since Sasuke had come back, he was still there for them, and he had even been able to gain emotions since then. Sai also seemed to learn a few more expressions, like the smirk he had displayed earlier. But all in all, he had seemed to grow along with the rest of them, and for whatever reason, he was a good person to vent to when something was troubling you.

And so, she was thankful for his presence. Even after he had left with a quiet "Good-bye", she was reveling in the friendly companionship he had offered her for that moment. If things had been different, maybe she would have felt something for him like she had for Sasuke. But for now, this was good. This was gratifying.

- - -

This was unacceptable. Sasuke had been a great distance away from them, and even though he couldn't hear what they were saying, he knew who he was seeing with Sakura. That damn bastard, Sai. Even after he came back, he never had liked him. He felt it a blow to his ego whenever Naruto or Sakura even associated with him. A part of him was telling him to shut it, that Sai had been there for them when _he, himself _had abandoned them and the village.

But instantly, as soon as that little voice had made its claim, the rest of Sasuke shot it down in an instant, telling it that since he was back, there was no more need to talk to his former 'replacement'.

However, he knew better than to stomp over there and tell her to get away from him. It seemed that they had grown some sort of friendship, and Sakura had always been touchy about her friends. Being told not to socialize with one of them was a dangerous line to cross.

Although he was being tempted to do that in the situation with the Hyuuga genius. Sai was no threat to him, but Neji… That was a different story.

What kind of threat he posed? Well, being the best, damn it. Sasuke and Naruto had always had their competitive nature towards each other, but Sasuke allowed that. Naruto was an ally, someone he could trust, and so, even if he excelled in something Sasuke couldn't, he felt no worry.

Neji was a different story. Succeeding in anything that he would fail in was not acceptable at all.

And right now, he was succeeding in staying on Sakura's good side. Yes, it was something so stupid. He didn't even care about the pink-haired medic that way, he was sure of it. She was his teammate and nothing more. But this was almost mutiny, talking to someone from another team, especially his known rival.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Sai had gotten up and left, and although he was tempted to go over there and shake her out of her own stupor, he felt it would not be a good thing to approach her today. He had already upset her earlier with the whole fiasco in the forest, but luckily, so had Neji. He just had to make sure that it kept going in that direction for the Hyuuga, because then that would push him out of this particular competition.

But damn it, Neji was making it a hard battle! He already had to fight him for the title of 'Childhood Prodigy', which he was sure he had kicked his ass in, and also for the best bloodline. But now Neji was bringing in his teammate as the next contest, which was not something that Sasuke would take lightly.

Turning away from the sakura trees, he darted back home, with only one thought in his mind…

_This was unacceptable._

- - -

It had been awhile since Sai had left, but as Sakura continued to stare at the sky, that's when she suddenly realized that it was getting just a little late. The horizon was a bit dusky, with tangents of orange, yellow, and red mixed together for a beautiful sunset. She smiled at the peaceful picture that life had painted for her, before pushing herself off the ground and to the standing position.

She began to dust off her clothes, watching as the loose pieces of grass fell from her. Running a finger through her shortened tresses, she felt a few of the petals from earlier, and with a suppressed giggle, began to pick out the ones she could find. As she let them fall from her fingertips, she would watch as they floated downward, but this time, there was no draft to catch them mid-fall. And so, they fell effortlessly until they hit the grass, a beautiful contrast of green and pink.

Turning on her heel, she headed out of the field and back into the streets, where everyone was starting to close up their shops. She could see the smaller children being ushered inside parents, as well as hear their protests that they weren't tired while yawning at the same time. She found it adorable, and found her thoughts drifting to other child-related thoughts.

She wondered… What would her children be like? Would they keep their mother's brilliant pink hair? Her green eyes? Or her keen sense of chakra control and skill?

And what attributes would they have from their father… Who would their father be…

As she continued to walk home, her mind wandered further, matching herself with different shinobi of her age. Ahhh, the possibilities of offspring.

If she were to, by some weird chance, be with Lee- Oh, she couldn't even finish that thought without the image of pink-haired children running around, with huge pink eyebrows plastered on their faces. She began to laugh out loud, not caring if anyone saw her or thought strangely of her sudden behavior. What a sight that would be.

Her mind flew from Lee to Shikamaru next. Probably the most brilliant children Konoha had ever seen, she deduced. She was very intelligent herself, and Shikamaru was a genius when it came to everything. The sad thing was that, if that were to happen, they would also be the laziest children in the world. No coming home to a clean house, or sudden meals for mother.

Suddenly, for some strange reason, she thought of Naruto next. There was no feelings for him other than friendship, but then again, that was the same for Lee and Shikamaru. Their children… Probably the cutest if they had those round, blue eyes and those little whisker marks on their cheeks. The only thing that would really worry her was an insane fondness of ramen… And maybe a persona that was oblivious to anyone's feelings for them. Poor, poor Hinata. She just had to be patient. She would get him soon enough.

Thinking of Hinata, she suddenly thought of her cousin, Neji. As she turned the corner, she began to imagine their children. Not as brilliant as with Shikamaru, but damn close, she assumed. With maybe pink hair and white eyes? Would they have the Byakugan that Neji possessed as well? Too many questions, but she did believe that they would be adorable whether or not they had those features.

Sakura finally reached her house, and as her hand clasped the door knob, she thought about the last boy on her mind.

Sasuke.

If they were to have children… Well, she believed they would probably have their father's strong determination, with maybe a bit of his attitude as well. She smiled at the thought of a little boy with black, spiky hair, no more than four, calling some blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy a 'dobe', and challenging him to some kind of spar.

Maybe he would have her eyes… And speaking of eyes, would they have the Sharingan as well? Green to red… She did admit, that was a beautiful combination.

Sakura didn't even realize she had made it to her room until she had closed the door behind her. Snapping out of her dreamful reverie, she sat down on her bed, feeling the mattress sink slightly from the weight.

Why were her thoughts about children and family? And why, when she thought about a mixture of her and Sasuke, did her heart ache?

It really wasn't fair. She knew, no matter what she told herself, she longed for those little ebony-haired, jade-eyed babies that would smile up at her with their toothless grins, clutching at her finger when she went to poke their little noses.

And she also longed for strong, secure arms wrapping around her shoulders as she held them, their warm breath against her neck, as dark onyx eyes gazed at the bundles of joy in front of her. To see a beautiful wedding ring on her forefinger, indicating that she was now…

She let out a frustrated wail, letting herself fall out of her sitting position to a face-down laying one, her nose buried deep within the pillow, smothering out any sounds of anguish that were trying to force their way out.

Damn it…

To be thinking about him when she was trying to get over him…

Was completely unacceptable.

- - -

This would be the end of chapter two. I hope that it was worth the wait, which I again apologize for taking so long! It took me awhile to make this chapter, because I didn't want to have any sudden 'relationships' or some sudden 'oh-I-just-noticed-I-love-her-within-two-paragraphs-of-the-story', so I had to push myself away from that.

Please review, because I would love to hear what you thought of it! If I could get half as many reviews as I did with the first chapter, I think I would be ecstatic.

Ja ne!

Miyuki


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